Aurat March Lahore unveils 12-point charter of demands

Aurat March Lahore held its feminist press conference today announcing its twelve-point charter of demands. The March is scheduled to take place on International Women’s Day (March 8) from Lahore Press Club to outside Falettis Hotel, Egerton Road from 2 PM to 6 PM.

Lahore: Aurat March Lahore unveils 12-point charter of demands. Aurat March encouraged media houses to send women and transgender reporters, journalists and media personnel to the press conference in order to highlight the need for gender-inclusive media. The speakers at the conference highlighted how Aurat March, feminist movements and women in politics have been misrepresented in the media.

The speakers called for gender-sensitive media coverage that focuses on the substantive demands of the March rather than misformation. The speakers reiterated the Lahore chapter’s theme for the year 2024: “Politics, Resistance, Liberation”, highlighting that the Election Commission of Pakistan has completely failed to conduct a free and fair election and lost the people’s trust.

The March called for a truth and reconciliation commission to be set up with representation from people-led movements, marginalised communities and all political parties, to restore trust in the electoral process. The speakers expressed disappointment at the ECP’s failure to ensure compliance with the minimum requirement of 5% women’s nomination on general seats for all political parties.

The Aurat March  is an annual socio-political demonstration in Pakistani cities such as Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar and Quetta to observe International Women’s Day.

The first Aurat Marches were begun by women’s collectives in parallel with the Pakistani #MeToo movement on International Women’s Day. The first march was held on 8 March 2018 in Karachi. Marches were organized in 2019 in Lahore and Karachi by Hum Auratein (We the Women, a women’s collective) and elsewhere in the country, including Islamabad, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Quetta, Mardan, and Faisalabad, by Women Democratic Front (WDF), Women’s Action Forum (WAF), and other groups. The march was endorsed by the Lady Health Workers Association and included representatives of a number of women’s-rights organizations.

The march calls for greater accountability for violence against women and supports women who experience violence and harassment at the hands of security forces, in public spaces, at home, and in the workplace. Women and men carry posters with slogans such as Ghar ka Kaam, Sab ka Kaam (“Housework is everyone’s work”), and Mera Jism Meri Marzi (“My body, my choice”) became a rallying cry.